Eating disorders and obesity are usually seen as very different problems but actually share many similarities. In fact, eating disorders, obesity, and other weight-related disorders may overlap as girls move from one problem, such as unhealthy dieting, to another, such as obesity. This information sheet is designed to help parents, other adult caregivers, and school personnel better understand the links between eating disorders and obesity so they can promote healthy attitudes and behaviors related to weight and eating.

How are eating disorders and obesity related?

Eating disorders and obesity are part of a range of weight-related problems.

These problems include anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, anorexic and bulimic behaviors, unhealthy dieting practices, binge eating disorder, and obesity. Adolescent girls may suffer from more than one disorder or may progress from one problem to another at varying degrees of severity. It is important to understand this range of weight-related problems in order to avoid causing one disorder, such as bulimia, while trying to prevent another, such as obesity.1

Body dissatisfaction and unhealthy dieting practices are linked to the development of eating disorders, obesity, and other problems.

High numbers of adolescent girls are reporting that they are dissatisfied with their bodies and are trying to lose weight in unhealthy ways, including skipping meals, fasting, and using tobacco. A smaller number of girls are even resorting to more extreme methods such as self-induced vomiting, diet pills, and laxative use.2

These attitudes and behaviors place girls at a greater risk for eating disorders, obesity, poor nutrition, growth impairments, and emotional problems such as depression.3 Research shows, for example, that overweight girls are more concerned about their weight, more dissatisfied with their bodies, and more likely to diet than their normal-weight peers.4

Binge eating is common among people with eating disorders and people who are obese.

People with bulimia binge eat and then purge by vomiting, using laxatives, or other means. Binge eating that is not followed by purging may also be considered an eating disorder and can lead to weight gain. More than one-third of obese individuals in weight-loss treatment programs report difficulties with binge eating.5 This type of eating behavior contributes to feelings of shame, loneliness, poor self-esteem, and depression.6 Conversely, these kinds of feelings can cause binge eating problems.7 A person may binge or overeat for emotional reasons, including stress, depression, and anxiety.8

Depression, anxiety, and other mood disorders are associated with both eating disorders and obesity.

Adolescents who are depressed may be at an increased risk of becoming obese. One recent study found that depressed adolescents were two times more likely to become obese at the one year follow up than teens who did not suffer from depression.9 In addition, many people with eating disorders suffer from clinical depression, anxiety, personality or substance abuse disorders, or in some cases obsessive compulsive disorder.10 Therefore, a mental health professional may need to be involved in treating an adolescent who is obese or suffers from an eating disorder or other weight-related problem.

The environment may contribute to both eating disorders and obesity.

The mass media, family, and peers may be sending children and adolescents mixed messages about food and weight that encourage disordered eating.11 Today’s society idealizes thinness and stigmatizes fatness, yet high-calorie foods are widely available and heavily advertised.12 At the same time, levels of physical activity are at record lows as television and computers replace more active leisure activities, travel by automobile has replaced walking, and many communities lack space for walking and recreation.13

Health risks

Eating disorders may lead to
• Stunted growth
• Delayed menstruation
• Damage to vital organs such as the heart and brain
• Nutritional deficiencies, including starvation
• Cardiac arrest
• Emotional problems such as depression and anxiety

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